Be sure to include your name, daytime phone number, address, name and phone number of legal next-of-kin, method of payment, and the name of the funeral home/crematory to contact for verification of death.

Yum! A sweet tradition is born

What's Cooking

Ginger-pumpkin muffins will forever be linked in my mind with the Toys R Us catalog.

You know, the one that comes out ages before you think about Christmas shopping. Uh, before Santa thinks about Christmas shopping. Or toy-making. Or whatever.

The catalog was tucked inside the paper Sunday morning, the same morning I made the muffins. My kids tore through the pages, circling toys to put on their lists for Santa.

Somewhere during this process my 5-year-old convinced herself that Santa will, of course, bring her everything she asks for. This includes the Baby Alive Woopsie Doo doll (it leaves surprises in its diaper) and a Power Wheels Lightening McQueen Super 6 (otherwise known as a toy car) that costs more than my monthly car payment.

While they had the catalog spread out on the floor, I went about making the muffins.

I chose this recipe because it screamed fall. Ginger, pumpkin and brandy ... what could be better?

The muffins were good — very good — but a tad complicated. Mince the ginger. Soak the raisins. Sift the flower. Wisk the pumpkin.

I wonder if the sifting and whisking was really necessary, because everything gets blended together at the end.

Another thing about this recipe: It uses a lot of bowls and utensils. There's quite a bit of dish-washing to be done while the muffins are in the oven.

But, oh, the smell of the muffins while they are in the oven. It overtook the house. It was like Thanksgiving, only better. A little sweet, a little spicy. Yum.

That's what I think about the muffins, too. Incredibly moist, they had a strong but pleasant ginger flavor.

The raisins (I used golden raisins because I had some left after last month's rice pudding recipe) sank to the bottom, probably because the batter was so thin.

Still, I'd make them again. Maybe next year, when the kids are occupied with another edition of the Christmas catalog.

I added chopped pecans because we prefer a nutty crunch in our muffins. The muffins were very moist and fluffy, and were even better the second day. They reminded me of gingerbread.

— Jan Gibson, Modesto

For this many ingredients, steps and the cleanup, I hope the muffins are outstanding. I did have two substitutions. Instead of light molasses, I used ¼ cup dark molasses and ¼ cup light corn syrup. Also, for the pumpkin pie spice I used ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon plus ¼ teaspoon ground ginger plus ‹ teaspoon each ground cloves and ground nutmeg. That is from the substitutions guide from McCormick Spices. My mix made 20 muffins and they did stick a bit to the paper liners. I thought they turned out well, but my husband pronounced them great.

— Sandy Loya, Modesto

You had to use so many bowls to mix the ingredients. The muffins were heavy, not light. My family really didn't care for the taste.

— Donna Boots, Modesto

Finally, a use for that crystallized ginger I purchased for a long- since-lost scone recipe. My family and I liked the taste and texture of the crystallized ginger in the batter, where it's been slightly rehydrated by the brandy and other moist ingredients. On top of the muffins, however, it was a bit too strong. In the future, I'll use less ginger in the topping, and add some walnuts and a pinch of cinnamon to the brown sugar and make it more streusel-like. I want to try them with dried cranberries instead of raisins, too. I found that I used my ‹-cup (2 tablespoons) measure more in this recipe than ever before — it seemed like everything was "plus 2 tablespoons."

— Carrie Munroe, Modesto

Crystallized ginger was an ingredient I had never used and mincing it took some time; it kept sticking to the knife.

We liked the spiciness of this recipe, particularly the crystallized ginger in the muffins as well as the topping. This is a great muffin for a Thanksgiving breakfast.

— Shirley Cantele, Modesto

I was excited to make these muffins as I thought they were very appropriate for the season. My mood changed as I was adding the molasses. In addition to them being fairly labor intensive, the dominant flavor was molasses and ginger and not ginger and pumpkin. I brought in a double batch for my colleagues to enjoy and the leftovers lingered for a few days.

— Ann Griffith, Modesto

Plan to spend many minutes just mincing crystallized ginger; the ginger clings to the knife blade. The rest of the recipe is relatively easy, especially if you gather together in bowls all the ingredients to be added (I used seven different bowls). The resulting muffins are delicious — moist, soft and piquant, with a bit of crispness in the topping. I used golden raisins in this batch (which, incidentally, filled 18 muffin cups), but I've resolved to use dried sweetened cranberries in the next batch. There will be a next batch nearer to Thanksgiving; the grandchildren will love them.

— Ralph Moore, Modesto

These muffins are a delicious alternative to pumpkin bread. The raisins add flavor and moistness and the ginger really gives them a kick. I made half without minced ginger and raisins, but those muffins didn't have near the character as the ones with the raisins and ginger. And I confess I used dark rum instead of brandy because I didn't want to buy a bottle just for 2 tablespoons (and I'm betting it didn't make a difference). These might be overpowering if you're not a fan of ginger, but I think they are great with a cup of coffee!

Entertainment Videos

Join the Discussion

The Modesto Bee is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.